1. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention is processes for producing a structural member of an amorphous alloy, and more particularly, processes for producing such structural member from a material formed of an amorphous alloy having a glass transition temperature Tg and a crystallization temperature Tx higher than the glass transition temperature Tg.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, to produce a member of such type, a procedure is employed which comprises forming a green compact from an amorphous alloy powder, heating the green compact, and subjecting the green compact to a hot plastic working. The hot working start temperature of the green compact is set at a level equal to or lower than the crystallization temperature.
The hot plastic working of the green compact utilizes a plasticization accompanied by an endothermic phenomenon which the amorphous alloy exhibits at a temperature range exceeding the glass transition temperature Tg. Therefore, in order to improve the workability of the green compact to produce a structural member having a high volume fraction Vf of an amorphous phase, it is necessary to permit such endothermic phenomenon to occur sufficiently.
However, the amorphous alloy has an instable nature after production, and, therefore, when heated, it generates a structure relaxation phenomenon accompanied by an exothermic phenomenon due to a rearrangement of atoms. The prior art process, therefore has a problem that because the structure relaxation phenomenon is, of course, generated even at a green compact working step, the degree of plasticization of the green compact is low and the elongation of the green compact is small due to endothermic and exothermic phenomenons being generated simultaneously.